Boris Johnson has announced that HS2 will go ahead in full, along with transport improvements around the country. But what exactly will that mean?
• The first phase of the high-speed rail network, from London to Birmingham, will go ahead immediately, largely as planned.
• The prime minister said HS2 would be built in the north to Manchester and Leeds – but “simultaneously permitting us to go ahead with Northern Powerhouse Rail”. The second phase will be reviewed – potentially meaning other schemes, such as parts of Northern Powerhouse Rail, could be prioritised.
• A new body is expected to run both NPR and HS2 beyond Crewe, with the government planning to rebrand all the programmes as High Speed North.
• A minister for HS2, whose sole responsibility is the high-speed rail project, will be appointed.
• The rebuilding of London Euston station will be taken away from HS2 Ltd and overseen as a separate project. (That likely means trains will only run as far south as Old Oak Common in west London for several years when services start).
• There will be “a full-time oversight group” to monitor HS2 Ltd. Johnson said the company had “not made the task easier” and had handled communities along the route badly.
• The prime minister said the forecast budget for phase one, according to the infrastructure project authority, was £35bn-£45bn
• He also promised a £5bn investment in bus and bicycles. He said: “The transport revolution is local. It must be local. Greener, cleaner, more frequent.” However, he added, to justify HS2: “But we cannot make these improvements in isolation from one another … We’ll only be doing half the job. We have to fix the spine.”
